At the MVAAFF screening of Dave Chappelle: Live in Real Life, the genius comedian’s film about the comedic and musical concerts he put on during the COVID-19 pandemic, a fellow David dropped words of advice for aspiring comedians seeking their spotlight. Special audience guest David Letterman advised, “If you’re not going to be as good as David Chappelle, save the plane fare.”
It’s not a deterrent, but a testament to the genius of Chapelle, who was live and in person to host a screening of his documentary at the 2025 Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. The afternoon event benefited his high school alma mater, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.
Comedians need an audience like the rest of us need air. So, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and George Floyd’s brutal murder was streamed for all to see, Chappelle had to find an outlet to express his rage and disbelief. The longtime Ohio resident petitioned his state’s governor to host a socially distanced, one-night show with himself and a few fellow comedians, including Michelle Wolf and now Chappelle’s Yellow Stone neighbor Donnell Rawlings. That one night turned into 50-plus evening performances featuring a roster of comedians who came to perform and unexpected guests who took to the stage.
In true Chappelle fashion, no phones were allowed at the screening. Chappelle hit the stage to reflect on his covid concert series and how he wasn’t afraid of its cost. “What do I have money for,” he shared about wanting to do the experience. “If I have to, I’ll pay for it.”
The documentary chronicled how Chappelle flew in performers on private jets and housed and fed a growing staff for the concerts. It revealed how the community flourished during the existence of these shows, increasing foot traffic to local restaurants and shops that were suffering due to social distancing and employing roadies who needed the tour work. It detailed the strict COVID protocols that were put in place during by Chappelle’s team, run by nurses who revolutionized testing procedures. It also showed irate neighbors and one dogged zone inspector who fought for the concerts to end.
What was most intriguing, however, was Chappelle himself. Opening his art and his wallet to build this experience, he gave people a little bit of hope and a whole lot of humor during a scary time. He nourished and mentored his fellow comedians and guests, including Chris Rock, Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Common and Erykah Badu, becoming a champion of connection in a scary time. His experiment brought $9 million in revenue to Yellow Springs in 2020.
Chappelle has returned to the Wirrig Pavilion in that cornfield for his Summer Camp series, with several shows starting again on August 10. Through an electrifying blend of comedy and music, he’ll do what he did five years ago: bring together community and communion through a lens of comedy and art.
By Delaina Dixon/Ebony
Two of Hollywood’s biggest stars—Kevin Hart and John Cena—are joining forces for a high-octane, laugh-packed new film titled The Leading Man, currently in development at Netflix. Based on the comic book series by Jeremy Haun and B. Clay Moore, the movie promises to flip the traditional action-hero formula on its head.
In The Leading Man, Cena plays a self-absorbed movie star who believes he’s the ultimate action hero—until he discovers that his co-star and “man in the chair,” played by Hart, is actually a real-life secret agent. The revelation forces Cena’s character to swallow his pride and team up with Hart to save the world, blurring the lines between reel and real heroism.
This role reversal offers a fresh twist on the action-comedy genre, with Hart stepping into the role of the competent operative and Cena playing the clueless celebrity caught in a global crisis.
The film is being written by Jon and Erich Hoeber, known for Red, The Meg, and My Spy. Hart and Cena are also producing the film alongside:
This marks another major entry in Hart’s multi-film deal with Netflix, following hits like Lift, Fatherhood, and The Man from Toronto.
Both stars are riding high on recent streaming success:
Their pairing in The Leading Man is already generating buzz as a potential breakout hit, combining Hart’s comedic timing with Cena’s growing reputation for self-aware action roles.
With its comic book roots, genre-bending premise, and star-studded production team, The Leading Man is poised to deliver explosive action, sharp humor, and a fresh take on heroism. While no release date has been announced, fans can expect updates as production ramps up later this year.
In the ever-evolving landscape of comedy, a new debate is taking center stage: crowd work comedy versus traditional stand-up. With viral clips flooding social media and comedians like Matt Rife, Ian Fidance, Nate Jackson, and Stavros Halkias gaining traction through spontaneous audience interactions, many are asking—is crowd work the future of the industry, or just a passing trend?
Crowd work is a form of improvised comedy where performers engage directly with the audience—asking questions, riffing on responses, and reacting in real-time. Unlike traditional stand-up, which relies on rehearsed material, crowd work is unscripted and ephemeral, making each show a unique experience.
As one article puts it, crowd work is “the unscripted gem that can’t be replicated,” offering a glimpse into a comedian’s raw talent.
Social media has played a massive role in crowd work’s rise:
Not everyone is sold. At a Hulu comedy event, veterans like Jim Gaffigan, Ilana Glazer, and Roy Wood Jr. voiced concerns:
Some comics argue that crowd work can disrupt the rhythm of a set and create unrealistic expectations for audience interaction.
Many comedians are finding balance:
As Austin stand-up Leonarda Jonie put it: “Crowd work trumps jokes at live shows, but in recordings, jokes trump crowd work.”
Crowd work isn’t replacing traditional stand-up—it’s reshaping how it’s consumed. In a digital-first world, comedians are adapting by showcasing their quick wit and improvisational skills to build audiences and sell tickets.
Whether it’s a trend or a transformation, one thing’s clear: the best comics will master both.
CHICAGO, Aug. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Why did the candy fan call the Laff Line? For the chance* to make comedian, actor, and producer Damon Wayans Jr. laugh – and to enter to see their joke printed on a Laffy Taffy® candy wrapper! The deliciously funny candy brand known for classic dad jokes is partnering with Wayans to launch its first-ever Laffy Taffy Laff Line, a hilarious hotline for fans to call in and share their punniest original jokes that could be printed on the brand’s new, easier-to-open wrappers.
On August 16, National Tell a Joke Day, dial 1-844-LOL-HOUR (1-844-565-4687) to share your own jokes between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern Time, a time the brand is coining “Laffy Hour.” Select callers will get the chance to tell their joke to Wayans and his “Laff Squad,” a crew of comedians from Zanies Chicago, to make them “laff” out loud. Jokes must be 100 characters or less and follow the classic Laffy Taffy format: set up and punchline (50 characters each). The LOLs won’t stop there – Wayans will share his best one-liners back to callers!
“I like to consider myself a dad joke expert, so I’m excited to hear some fresh material,” said Wayans. “Just like Laffy Taffy, I’m all about sharing a laugh with my family – the punnier, the better. Do you have what it takes to make me laugh? If so, give me a ring!”
Laffy Taffy Mini Bar candy now comes with an improved wrapper for an easier opening experience without any stick or shred – a request made by consumers for years. Now with its refreshed packaging, Laffy Taffy fans can enjoy smooth new wrappers and fresh new jokes!
“Sharing the Laffy Taffy joke on each wrapper is a core part of the experience of our smooth and creamy candy. These moments of connection bring joy to our fans every day, so who better to come up with our new generation of jokes than our fans themselves?” said Ashley Incarnato, Senior Marketing Director at Ferrara Candy Company. “With the help of Damon Wayans Jr., the Laffy Taffy Laff Line is the perfect way to connect with our community, give them the chance to test their comedic chops and bring more laughter to families of all generations.”
All Laff Line callers can submit their original joke to be considered for printing on Laffy Taffy wrappers, which will be on store shelves in retailers nationwide. Jokes will be judged on humor, originality, creativity and relevance to brand values.* The top 100 jokes will be printed on wrappers, with winners receiving a custom bag of Laffy Taffy Mini Bars featuring an exclusive first look at fellow winners’ one-liners.
For more information, visit www.LaffyTaffy.com and follow @LaffyTaffy on TikTok and Instagram.
When a titan music mogul (Denzel Washington), widely known as having the “best ears in the business”, is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma.
Brothers Denzel Washington and Spike Lee reunite for the 5th in their long working relationship for a reinterpretation of the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s crime thriller High and Low, now played out on the mean streets of modern-day New York City, in this new film titled Highest 2 Lowest.
In Theaters August 15, Streaming on Apple TV+ September 5 RELEASE DATE: In Theaters August 15, Streaming on Apple TV+ September 5th
DIRECTOR: Spike Lee
CAST: Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, and A$AP Rocky
Watch the trailer above
Comedian Katt Williams is about to do a very different kind of one-man-and-a-microphone stand-up gig: PGA Tour on-course correspondent.
Williams is joining PGA Tour Live as an on-course correspondent at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis. He’ll be inside the ropes with ESPN analyst Michael Collins to add color and commentary — and maybe some comedy. Williams previously joined Collins as a special guest over the course of a few holes at the 2024 Tour Championship — this latest gig is a vote of confidence and an upgrade.
The intention here is to bring a new audience to the PGA Tour, and Williams is a great admirer of the pros — and a great ambassador to the sport. He loves the game of golf — and he’s happy with the state of his game, Williams told The Hollywood Reporter. Though he carries a 19 handicap, which is pretty much the threshold of what is considered to be a “high handicap,” Williams said the number is a misrepresentation of how he plays.
“OK, so I had to establish a handicap when I tore my rotator cuff. So, I came in as a 19 handicap, but I shoot low 80s,” Williams said. “You certainly don’t want to bet me! I know it won’t be that when I get ready to do it again. Eighty-three is a good and gettable score for me all across the country at excellent courses.”
Don’t make the mistake of referring to golf as a “hobby” with Williams, as I did. The comic and actor sees golf as a metaphor for, well, pretty much everything.
“The thing that I like about golf is that it permeates so many different parts of your life,” Williams said. “It’s not like it fixes everything, but it gives you a new parameter for things. The first four holes not going to your liking? It has the ability to ruin the day, but it doesn’t have to. You can fix this front nine, you see? And level this front nine out to where you can still have a good 18.”
The man is a philosopher.
“I’m to the point where I don’t even really have bad shots. You know what I mean? Like if I aimed right, and I meant for the ball to go right, but the ball went left — where I am in my journey, I feel like the ball knows better than me, and that that must be the angle that I must need to take this at (the pin), and that’s why it went over there — not I made a mistake and shanked it, and it went over to the right,” he continued. “I don’t even look at it like that, and because that’s the way it is in golf, that’s the way it is in my real life. It’s almost toxic positivity. I know that that happened because I didn’t keep my head down, and I’m just going to try to make sure that I keep it down (the next time). It takes away a lot of pressure of doing poorly, because you’ve got so many opportunities to do a better job.”
Williams will get an opportunity to do another good job on Thursday, Aug. 7, and Friday, Aug. 8, beginning at 9 a.m. ET — we guess he didn’t make the cut (golf joke) — at the first postseason event of the 2025 FedExCup Playoffs. Williams will follow the marquee group (of an already pretty marquee group of golfers) while he’s there; the tournament will continue, sans Williams, through the weekend.
PGA Tour Live streams on ESPN+. The 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship will also be live-streamed on Peacock.
The FedExCup Playoffs are the PGA Tour’s, well, playoffs. Beginning in 2007, the FedExCup is a season-long points competition; the top 70 point-getters make the postseason. The winner of the playoffs gets a $10 million bonus check; across the field, a total of $100 million is up for grabs.
All 70 FedExCup Playoffs golfers will tee off at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, with 50 making the BMW Championship and 30 ultimately deciding it all at the Tour Championship. By the end of the summer, we’re going to have a lot of rich(er) golfers.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
In this episode of Box Seats, we discuss the news about Shannon Sharpe being fired from ESPN, plus the news of a couple of NBA Players being arrested, from Marcus Morris to Gilbert Arenas. AND we also talked about the NFL Hall of Fame that took place last night.
We will also talk about all of the hottest topics in sports!
This episode features comedians Howie Bell and Marc Howard!
#NBAPlayoffs #NBAfreeagency #Freeagency #Indiana #IndianaPacers #OKC #OklahomaCItyThunder #BostonCeltics #NBAPlayoffs #NewYorkKnicks #DenverNuggets #OKC #Denvernuggetts #NFL #NBA #NBATrades #comedy #comedygrind #NFLTrades #NFLRumors #NFLFreeagency
Stand-up comedian and actor Tone Bell is stepping into one of his most layered roles yet as the lead in the upcoming dark comedy titled Transcending, which just wrapped principal photography in Kansas City, Missouri. The film, directed by Mike Luciano and written by Raleigh Cain, marks a bold new chapter in Bell’s career, blending surreal humor with emotional depth.
Bell plays a starving artist from the big city, reeling from a breakup with his wife (played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste)—who leaves him for a DJ. Seeking solace, he’s sent by his tough-love sister (played by Nicole Byer) to a quirky bed-and-breakfast in rural Kansas City.
There, he meets Raleigh Cain’s character, a magnetic young widow and best-selling author who believes her late husband’s soul has transcended into the walls of her farmhouse. As their chemistry grows, so does the surreal nature of their connection—she’s literally in love with the house.
Together, they navigate grief, healing, and self-discovery through unconventional methods, surrounded by a cast of eccentric locals:
The film leveraged Missouri’s transferable tax credit and Kansas City’s film rebate program, part of a growing trend of indie productions flocking to the Midwest.
Known for his roles in Survival of the Thickest, Disjointed, and Fam, Bell has steadily built a reputation for blending humor with heart. Transcending offers him a chance to stretch into more dramatic territory while maintaining his comedic edge.
Bell is repped by CAA and Mosaic Media Company, and the film is expected to hit the festival circuit in 2026, following post-production in Los Angeles.
Transcending isn’t just another quirky indie—it’s a meditation on grief, identity, and the strange ways we find connection. With Tone Bell at the helm and a powerhouse ensemble behind him, the film promises to be one of the most talked-about entries in next year’s festival lineup.
From the inventive mind of Jeff Carroll comes Spoof Streetz, a bold, laugh-out-loud comic series that flips pop culture on its head. With a sharp Black and people-of-color lens, this collection dives into everything from viral internet madness to blockbuster absurdities. Inspired by Mad Magazine, Wild ’N Out, Key & Peele, and Chappelle’s Show, Spoof Streetz delivers edgy satire and social commentary with unapologetic humor. Inside, you’ll meet a Black superhero grappling with America’s racial reality, Wild’N Out cast members fighting off a zombie outbreak, a flat-earther athlete taken to the planet’s edge, and a fierce, no-nonsense matriarch and her friends trying to cook a soul food feast gone hilariously wrong. Aimed at teens and young adults, this is comedy with a conscience—raw, real, and ridiculously fun.
“I wanted to bring Hip Hop-style comedy to the world of comic books. I enjoyed EC comics like MAD magazine, Tales from the Crypt, Weird Science, and their other genre comics. After a funny story called The Ass Doctor in CyberFunk Streetz got strong reactions, I knew I had something. People told me how funny it was, and I thought, Wow, I can do a comic with funny stories. Spoof Streetz is my book of funny stories, but I have a comic of space stories and an anthology of crime stories in the works. I’ve done two Horror Streetz comics, and I have another Horror Streetz as well,” said Jeff Carroll of his work.
Genre comics exploded in popularity during the 1940s and 1950s, covering horror, crime, sci-fi, and satire. EC Comics led the charge with bold, adult-themed storytelling that challenged social norms. Faced with censorship, many publishers folded or shifted formats, like Mad, which became a magazine to evade the Comics Code. These comics paved the way for socially aware storytelling and inspired generations of creators in film, television, and literature.
EC Comics, revived by William Gaines, became famous in the 1950s for bold horror, crime, and sci-fi stories. In 1952, Gaines and Harvey Kurtzman launched Mad, a satirical comic that took off with its Superman parody. To avoid censorship, Mad became a magazine in 1955, securing creative freedom. It went on to influence generations of comedians and writers, becoming one of America’s most iconic humor publications.
Hip Hop Comix N Flix is a publishing and film Production Company that was opened in 2006. The goal is to produce works of literature and film that inspire and provoke progressive thought while maximizing entertainment and enjoyment.
Jeff Carroll is an award-winning filmmaker, comic book creator, and sci-fi writer known for pioneering Hip Hop horror and socially conscious genre storytelling. He’s written over 15 books, produced six films, and created acclaimed comics like FangerNails and The Last Harlemite. His work has appeared in major Black sci-fi anthologies and festivals, and he continues to amplify diverse voices through media, education, and cultural panels.
For more information on him https://linktr.ee/jeffcarrolllinks
In this episode of Box Seats, we discuss the shooter that went on a rampage in New York yesterday, and his possible plans to attack the NFL Headquarters!
Plus, we talk about CTE and all of the things we have learned that are associated with the disease.
We also talk about the hottest topics in sports, PLUS the TOP 5 Questions of the day!
The show features comedians Howie Bell, Maurice Smith, and D Jones!
#NBAPlayoffs #NBAfreeagency #Freeagency #Indiana #IndianaPacers #OKC #OklahomaCItyThunder #BostonCeltics #NBAPlayoffs #NewYorkKnicks #DenverNuggets #OKC #Denvernuggetts #NFL #NBA #NBATrades #comedy #comedygrind #NFLTrades #NFLRumors #NFLFreeagency #Shooter #assassinate